Welcome Back Message from MCPS

Welcome Back Message from MCPS

Per MCPS:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VuLYufYX9wE&feature=youtu.be

Dear Parents, Students, and Community Members,

Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year.  On Monday, August 30, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will open its doors to nearly 160,000 students. For our teachers, staff, and administrators, this is a day we have been anticipating for months and preparing for all summer. We are excited  to welcome our students back for in-person teaching and learning, five days a week.

We are so grateful for the support that our families and community members have provided to our students as they spent so much of the past two school years learning remotely. Our partnership with you in support of all students will be especially critical this year. The past 18 months have been difficult for everyone, and we recognize that this is not a normal school opening. We also recognize that many of our students will come back to our schools needing time to recover academically, socially, and emotionally. Our schools will offer our students the support and resources they need to recover, be successful and stay engaged, including building and re-establishing meaningful relationships with them.

Our top priority this year is to keep our students and staff safe and keep our schools open. That is why we have put many procedures in place to promote a safe learning environment and limit the spread of COVID-19. This includes requiring our staff to be fully vaccinated or participate in  weekly testing; requiring masks for everyone in our schools and facilities, regardless of vaccination status; and following strict cleaning and ventilation protocols. Schools will be maximizing the use of outdoor spaces for educational and social experiences for our students.

We commit to do our part by following national, state and local health guidelines and communicating with you directly and frequently. Please do your part to help our staff and students stay healthy and keep our schools open: Get vaccinated if you can, wear a mask in all school facilities, and keep your children home if they are not feeling well. And if a student has (or may have) COVID-19, get them tested, and let us know as soon as possible, so we can notify our community and conduct contact tracing. If we work together, we will keep the focus of this school year where it belongs—on meeting the academic and social emotional needs of our students.

Thank you for your continued support of MCPS, our staff, and our students. Here’s to a great school year!

In partnership,

Brenda Wolff
President, Montgomery County Board of Education

Dr. Monifa B. McKnight
Interim Superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools